Cancer remains one of the leading causes of death in developed countries. The American Cancer Society estimates that skin cancer, for example, is the most common of cancers, and melanoma, in particular, causes a large majority of skin cancer deaths (American Cancer Society, Cancer Reference Guide: Skin Cancer—Melanoma 2008; www.cancer.org). Prognosis for many types of cancers may be poor. Glioblastoma, for example, accounts for approximately 19% of all primary brain tumors, and the average five-year survival rate is less than 4% (Central Brain Tumor Registry of the United States, Primary Brain Tumors in the United States, Data collected 2000-2004 (2007-2008)).
Some cancers, for example, glioma and melanoma, have been considered to be immunogenic. In particular, tyrosinase has been demonstrated as an antigen in several human cancers, including melanoma and glioma (Kawakami et al., J. Immunother., 21(4):237-46 (1998); Zhang et al., Clin. Cancer Res., 13:566-75 (2007)). Accordingly, tyrosinase may be a target for immunotherapy.
In spite of considerable research into immunotherapy, there is a need in the art for improved compositions and methods for treating and/or preventing cancer.